Telangana Health Minister Eatala Rajender defends condition of govt hospitals amid COVID-19 crisis

HYDERABAD: Asserting that the Telangana government was sparing no effort in containing Covid-19, Health Minister Eatala Rajender, on Monday, said that people with vested interest are finding ways to tarnish its image. He went on to blame some of the patients for recording videos inside the government hospitals with poor facilities, though the situation is to the contrary.

“We are allowing people to take phones into isolation because they are alone and need to be in touch with their families. However, people with vested interests are taking videos and photos to paint a wrong picture. There is no truth to these,” said the Minister, speaking to presspersons on Sunday.

He said that such videos would do disservice to the health staff. However, previously health staff themselves had protested citing issues such as shortage of manpower and facilities to treat Covid patients.

On the issue of why ministers and elected representatives were not taking treatment at government hospitals to build confidence in people, the Minister said that people were free to choose where they should get their treatment.

‘Don’t tour private hospitals’

Stating that several people go to government hospitals after being turned away at private hospitals on account of lack of sufficient number of beds, the Minister said the State was well equipped and was committed to taking care of all Covid-19 patients.

“Gandhi Hospital has about 2,000 beds, of which only 600 odd are occupied. We have four major Covid-19 hospitals now in TIMS, Gandhi, King Koti and Chest Hospital. But in the private sector there is no dedicated Covid-19 hospital. I urge citizens to utilise the services in the hospitals if their condition worsens during home isolation,” he said.

On reimposition of lockdown in Hyderabad, the Minister said the lockdown is not a simple decision and it involves a decision at the national level in terms of arrival flights and trains.

He, however, said he was aware that the cases were increasing but the phenomenon was same all over including in cities such as Kolkata, Delhi, and Mumbai.

The Telangana Health Department will resume the mass testing activities across Hyderabad, Rangareddy and Medchal from Tuesday.

“Intensive testing will resume from Tuesday and will be aggressively done in South and West Zone. The containment activities in these areas will be more strict,” added Minister.

Kothagudem Collector implores officials to stay alert

Bhadradri-Kothagudem:  District Collector MV Reddy held a meeting with district medical officers, Mandal Parishad Development Officers, and other officials regarding the rising Covid-19 cases in the district on Monday.

As of Monday, the total number of cases in the district stood at 25.

The Collector directed officials to concentrate on the movement of people from other States or districts, and to examine home quarantine centres.

He also directed them to set up control rooms in municipality and MPDO offices.